Shocked, Shocked!! Corporate Climate And Sustainability Pledges & Policies Melting Away Like Snow In The Sahara
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Worse, we’re now seeing a retreat. In the past year companies around the world have been canceling their climate commitments, some only a few years old. BP Plc is pulling back on renewables and drilling more oil. Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. abandoned or weakened promises they made in 2021 to slash their use of new plastics. Big banks such as Wells Fargo & Co. and HSBC Holdings Plc walked back various plans to reduce their emissions. Walmart Inc. admits it’s behind on its climate targets, while FedEx Corp. says it will likely miss its goal to go electric on half of its delivery truck purchases by 2025. This corporate retrenchment has been particularly acute in the US, where the Trump administration has been busy rolling back climate regulations and withdrawing from international treaties such as the Paris Agreement.
It’s a troubling trend for anyone who prefers life on a hospitable planet. We’re currently on pace to add about 3C (5.5F) of warming this century, which is expected to throw the planet into turmoil with diminished food supplies, wiped-out marine life, brutal heat waves and crippling droughts. But even with those grim prospects, some experts argue that this corporate backpedaling might come with a silver lining. That’s because it could force investors, lawmakers, academics and the broader public to reckon with the fact that voluntary corporate action was never going to stave off climate disaster. This could bring sharper attention to corporate political activities, where even self-proclaimed responsible businesses obstruct regulations needed to phase out fossil fuels and boost clean alternatives.
“I am heartened by the alacrity of the retreat and the ferociousness of it, because I think it uncovers the reality that we all need to understand, which is companies aren’t going to save the planet,” says Ken Pucker, a professor at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy and former chief operating officer at apparel maker Timberland. “The quicker that people understand and integrate that, the better.” Pucker’s worry is that for every company taking this seriously—such as DHL Group, which is spending $8 billion over a decade to reduce emissions—there will be countless competitors that virtue-signal green pledges without following through in any meaningful way.
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This pattern repeats across industries. Hotel giants Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and Marriott International Inc. promise big emissions cuts—while supporting trade groups that sue to block energy efficiency regulations for buildings. At the national level, the Business Roundtable, which is packed with companies that trumpet their climate efforts, recently urged Congress to ban climate-related shareholder resolutions. “It’s a really problematic dynamic where companies hide behind these groups and let them do the dirty work, so they don’t have to say they’re opposed to these things,” says Dara O’Rourke, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley and former sustainability scientist at Amazon.com Inc. When asked about these glaring misalignments, companies frequently argue that they rely on trade groups to advocate on a wide range of issues, such as taxation and trade, and that they don’t always agree on every position. This claim doesn’t pass muster with Bill Weihl, who says he used to make the same argument back when he ran sustainability efforts for Facebook. “It’s a weak excuse,” says Weihl, who has since launched ClimateVoice, a nonprofit that pushes companies to support climate policies. “They’re choosing to kick the can down the road so they can get lower taxes and deregulation.”
Ed. - IOW, it's the corporate version of "I didn't vote for this!"
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-06-12/climate-pledges-dropped-by-coca-cola-bp-hsbc-as-planet-heats-up?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc0OTczNzE4MiwiZXhwIjoxNzUwMzQxOTgyLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTWFFTMEVEV1gyUFMwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiIzRjRGRUZFRDYwMzQ0Q0RDQjlGMTIwNTMyNzFCMUVBQiJ9.-J-3klDvYKh-TIgtwS7ZKPWLwaLmSej9ESX2K066Aw4&leadSource=uverify%20wall